Nautical Burgees

Nautical Burgees are the types of flags that are used on boats which bear the colors or an emblem of a particular sailing club. Burgees are generally triangular shaped and they are mostly displayed on the top of the masthead which is the vertical pole that supports the sails in the centre. The burgees that are on the back of the boats are called the ensigns. According to the sailing rules, there could only be one burgee on the mast, at a time, but these days we can see that some boats display several burgees.

Some burgees are also used for signalling and for messaging. They can be also displayed on the anchor of a boat but this does not happen during racing. Power boats display their burgees on the bow of the boat. The place where you display the burgee on your boat will depend on the type of boat that you have. It is necessary to follow the sailing etiquette.

One of the famous burgees known is the burgee of the world’s oldest yacht club, The Royal Cork. Also, burgee of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron which was found in 1862 in Northern Sydney is another famous one as well.

The type of the flag that a captain could display on his boat will depend on the ranking of that person. This will depend on his experiences according to sailing hierarchy. For example a Commodore could display a burgee which could be the swallow tailed version of the original burgee. The same rule applies to the Vice Commodores and Rear Commodores as well.

When purchasing a Nautical Burgee one must make sure to choose producers who are experienced to sell you a quality product. Firstly, the burgee should be produced from very strong material, so that it remains in good condition during strong winds and wet storms.